Something else crossed Clark’s mind, something he’d wondered about for the past eleven years, ever since he’d found out about the existence of New Krypton. “Father, why was I sent to Earth instead of New Krypton?”
The hologram’s expression turned sad. “It was to save your life. I became High Lord of the House of El following the assassination of my elder brother, his wife and two sons. It was not my choice to become High Lord. I much preferred my scientific studies. The assassins were never found and it was assumed by the Council that the conviction of General Zod and his accomplices had put an end to the threat. However I had reason to believe that my son and heir, you, was still in danger from Zod’s followers, specifically members of the House of Et. There were attempts made against both you and your mother. Lara, Zor, my younger brother, Sen-Ra, Zara’s father, and I decided it was better to send you to a safe haven known only to myself, Lara, Sen-Ra and Trey, our seneschal on Halos I. I programmed the navigation module to land in an area known as Kansas, in the proximity of individuals whose psychological makeup was such that they would accept and protect you.”
“Thank you,” Clark said. “I’d always wondered how I managed to land so close to the two people most likely to take me in.” He turned to Kal-El. “I think we should be getting back before Lois has a fit. She hates it when I take off and it’s not an emergency.”
“You want to find a safe place for the memory modules and the master module,” Kal-El reminded him. “You don’t want anyone else to get hold of them.”
“The voice of experience?” Clark wondered. There was something in the other man’s tone that told him it was more than a simple suggestion. That Kal-El had experience in this.
“Let’s just say I’ve had to put better locks on the doors.”
Clark looked around the crystal structure. “There aren’t any doors.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Lois I
Wanda looked up at the sound of two swooshes at the back of the house. After a few moments the French doors opened and Kal-El and Clark walked into the living room. Kal-El was back in his gray suit.
“Figure out something?” Lois asked.
“Something, maybe,” Clark said, sitting down on the sofa next to his wife. He was looking over at Zara with a familiar, speculative look in his eyes. “I found another function in the navigation module. Cultural and historical data on the Halos I colony, also known as New Krypton. I also looked up property ownership and property transfers.”
Zara looked puzzled. “I don’t understand.”
“Zara, Xon isn’t trying to take out the House of El, he’s trying to usurp control of the entire colony away from the Council of Elders even. He’s smarter than Nor. Nor only thought in terms of a military coup when he couldn’t marry you and rule at your side. Xon is planning on making Nor’s granddaughter the only heir to the House of El since Lois isn’t a member of Kryptonian nobility.”
“I still don’t understand, Clark,” Zara said. “I know Xon can use the child against you, to undermine, even take over the House, but how can he use that to take control of the colony without the support of the council?”
“Zara, according to the colony charter, who owns the real estate the colony is on?” Kal-El asked.
Zara thought for a long moment, looking at Ching in puzzlement. “I honestly don’t know. I had assumed the Council owned the property. Assuming anyone does.”
“But my information says that under Kryptonian law only noble individuals can own real property. Therefore the Council cannot own the colony,” Clark said. “And the transfer of properties as large as that requires the approval of the entire council.”
“That would be to prevent a House with a lord in financial difficulties from cashing out the House property to the detriment of the House’s standing. It would also prevent a single lord from suddenly accumulating large amounts of cash, for whatever reason,” Ching explained. “What are you getting at, Clark?”
“Assuming my information is correct, and the council hasn’t made changes to the charter, I, as High Lord of El, own the colony on behalf of the House of El,” Clark said. “Xon doesn’t need the council’s approval to take over if he can convince the council beforehand that Conza’s baby is mine, however it happened. He bides his time, sends an assassin to finish me off, she inherits with him as regent. Then he can legally take out the council and the guilds, not to mention the other Houses because he will be the only real estate owner in the colony. They own nothing.”
“So not only do you need to repudiate the child,” Ching said slowly. “But we need to find a mechanism to legitimize your heirs.”
Wanda’s head was beginning to ache. She’d never liked political discussions and legal matters, aside from libel and copyright law, left her cold as well. Libel and copyright weren’t exactly warm and fuzzy either, but they did impact her job so she tried to keep on top of them.
She looked over at Kal-El. He seemed to be listening intently to the discussion between Clark and the other two Kryptonians. A faint frown occasionally crossed his face.
He looked over at her watching him and came to sit beside her. “I am so glad I’m not him,” he murmured softly. “Earth politics is bad enough, but this is straight out of the middle ages.”
“Great Kryptonian political writers: Sun Tzu and Machiavelli,” Clark said with a grin.
“We both forgot about superhearing,” Wanda muttered back to Kal-El.
“I am not familiar with those writers, and those are not Kryptonian names,” Zara said. Ching was trying to suppress a grin. Obviously Ching recognized who Clark was talking about. Clark went to one of the bookcases, pulled out two slim volumes and handed them to Zara. Wanda didn’t need to see the titles to know what they were: The Art of War and The Prince.
“I admit I haven’t come up with a good solution for the problem of Conza’s daughter, but unless there’s a rule against noble adoption of females, there is a mechanism for solving the legitimacy problem. Remember, I adopted Ching as my brother, raising him to the nobility so you and he could be together and your children by him could be in line of succession in the House of Ra,” Clark reminded her. “And if I understand correctly, Ching was my heir until CJ was born.”
“But Lois is an Earth human,” Zara said. “We’re not even the same species. Your children by her are half-breeds.”
Wanda glanced at Lois. Her face had gone white. Clark’s expression was unreadable. Kal-El just looked puzzled. Something is seriously awry here.
“Wait a minute,” Wanda interrupted. “I assume we’re using the same definition of species here, right? Genetic populations that can successfully interbreed in nature are the same species?”
Ching nodded his head. “That is the working definition of species.”
“So, since they have four kids, and I have one by a different Kyptonian,” Wanda stated. “And since all the necessary parts are there and working appropriate to their age, we are talking about one species here. Different races maybe, but one species.”
“Logically, that is impossible,” Zara stated. “We evolved on two different planets.”
“Logic be damned, Zara, look at the evidence,” Wanda stated. “Besides, isn’t there a theory that all life started in a single place and spread out from there?”
“You’re thinking panspermia,” Kal-El said. “But there is the fact that in our reality, Earthers and Kryptonians do come from the same stock. Kryptonians did not evolve on Krypton, could not have evolved on Krypton. We either emigrated there or were planted there by someone else. Given that our genetic structure was obviously manipulated so that we could survive such a harsh environment would indicate the later. I don’t think whoever did it realized exactly what they’d done, how powerful those minor changes were. They certainly didn’t expect any of us to come back to Earth.”
“Minor changes?” Zara challenged.
“The genetic differences between Earthers and Kryptonians is so minor that a standard DNA analysis won’t even detect it unless it’s being specifically looked for,” Kal-El said. “The key differences are in the mitochondria, and in a special type of cell in the skin that acts as a solar collector and battery. The other differences are actually normal genetic variations some of which have been found in the Earth’s population. We just have more of them together. We don’t have third molars, we don’t have appendixes, we do create our own vitamin C. But there are Earthers who have the same variations.”
Zara looked back to Clark. “The council won’t accept it,” she protested.
“They will if you will,” Clark pointed out. “Or is the whole ‘Krypton was the most evolved and enlightened society in the known twenty-eight galaxies’ a bunch of crap, cause what I see here, and what I experienced on New Krypton, tells me that Krypton was and is ruled by a bunch of racial and religious bigots. Quite frankly, right now I'm ashamed to admit I'm even one of you.”
